


sky full of song

by agitatedstates



Series: high as hope [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chocobros - Freeform, Friendship, Gen, Song fic, Zu!AU, i do what i want my city now - Freeform, wing fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 10:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18826393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agitatedstates/pseuds/agitatedstates
Summary: It’s nice that Promptos friends know now, he doesn't have to come up with excuses or hide away in the dead of night. Gods, he even lets his tail out in hotels sometimes. Noctis tries to chase it, like a cat with a string, but he’ll never be quick enough. It’s a game more than anything, but he likes it. It feels intimate, like the way Ignis grooms his feathers when he’s curled up at a haven, or Gladio trying to beat him in arm wrestles now that he can actually show his strength.orprompto gets to be himself, and his friends love him anyway





	sky full of song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoveFanworks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoveFanworks/gifts).



> this is a birthday gift for my pal Dove! they've helped me stay sane over the past few months and i kinda dragged em into ffxv so i thought id gift them a fic for their rad as hell Zu!AU. enjoy!!!

_ How deeply are you sleeping or are you still awake? A good friend told me you've been staying out so late _

Prompto appreciates being able to spread his wings. It was rare enough in Insomnia when he had the time, but the older he got the harder it was to hunt. It was harder once Pan and Rami left the city, but out here in the Leiden desert he can  _ fly.  _ He doesn’t have to hide in the dead of night like in Insomnia, hunting for snacks once a month. He can genuinely, actually fly.

He hunts with Pan and Rami a lot, now that he’s found them again, flying off into the night when he knows Noctis, Ignis and Gladio are safe in a hotel. Its usually too stuffy for him, claustrophobic and too  _ small.  _ Gladio was always surprised with how much Prompto liked camping, but he never admitted he felt safer in the open area of a haven than anywhere else. 

Prompto is a pale yellow blur across the night sky, doing flips and dives just for the hell of it. Pan laughs at him for it, saying he’s worse than a chick, but it feels so freeing. It used to be hard for Prompto to transform, when he went months at a time without even showing his  _ wings,  _ so much so that he feared he’d lose that part of him forever. But now it’s almost instant, liking flicking a switch, and finally he feels like he’s whole. 

It’s nice that Promptos friends know now, he doesn't have to come up with excuses or hide away in the dead of night. Gods, he even lets his tail out in hotels sometimes. Noctis tries to chase it, like a cat with a string, but he’ll never be quick enough. It’s a game more than anything, but he likes it. It feels intimate, like the way Ignis grooms his feathers when he’s curled up at a haven, or Gladio trying to beat him in arm wrestles now that he can  _ actually  _ show his strength. 

Prompto likes that they can see all parts of him now. 

_ Grab me by my ankles, I've been flying for too long, I couldn't hide from the thunder in a sky full of song and I want you so badly, but you could be anyone. I couldn't hide from the thunder in a sky full of song _

Noctis always stares at him after Prompto has transformed, once the initial shock wore off he was  _ enamoured _ . Many a time Prompto has caught him reaching out to his ear tufts, but hesitating to make the connection. It was like christmas had come early when Prompto actually let him touch them, and since then he hasn’t  _ stopped.  _ It’s like Noctis has never seen a bird before, but Prompto thinks its more to do with the fact that suddenly  _ he  _ can turn into a large bird, but he still thinks Noct is weird for it. 

He nearly chokes when Noctis asks if he’d ever be able to ride him one day. He knows Noctis doesn’t  _ know,  _ and Prompto shouldn’t take offence to it, but he still reels a bit. Prompto doesn’t know how to tell Noctis it’s considered one of the most demeaning things a zu could let happen to them, but a little part of him wants to let Noct do it. He leaves it at a “maybe” and Noct seems satisfied for now. 

Prompto doesn’t notice too much difference now that Noctis knows everything. He’s just thankful he still has a friend after all of this, but he starts to notice weird things. Like the shiny ho-oh Noctis caught in pokemon go being suspiciously named  _ Prom,  _ how he only ever has a team of  _ bird  _ Pokemon when they battle, and the final straw is when Noctis calls him  _ tweety.  _

Noctis has never looked as petrified as he did when Prompto grew to his full height, spreading his wings and hissing. He finds the bird puns a little funny, but he has his honour to defend here, and if he calls his slaking  _ Noctis  _ as a tiny little bit of revenge. Noctis is laughing the moment Prompto stops hissing at him, and calls him Tweety any way, but its okay cos Prompto gets scratches behind his ear tufts. Noct can get away with it this time. 

_ Hold me down, I'm so tired now, aim your arrow at the sky. Take me down, I'm too tired now. Leave me where I lie _

Ignis is a little more hesitant around Prompto after the big reveal, but Prompto does his best to ease any concerns he has. Ever the practical one, Ignis seems to keep more of an eye on him now. Prompto tries not to develop a complex about it, and theres been many a time when Pan has nearly confronted Ignis over the  _ disrespect.  _ Prompto forgets how long she’s been out here sometimes, but she was never the best with human social cues to begin with. 

It isn’t until Ignis tentatively approaches him, well after Noct and Gladio had fallen asleep and the two of them cleaned up after him. Ignis rather sheepishly asks if Prompto is eating enough, if he’s  _ satisfied  _ with what Ignis makes. Prompto makes a joke about nearly starving to death before they found out he was a Zu, and something in Ignis’ face darkens, like he blames himself for it.

Prompto insists he’s okay now, that hunting has made him stronger and back to his old self, and that Ignis worries too much.

Ignis asks if he can learn about Zu culture, if he can ask questions. He stays up with Prompto the rest of the night, listening intently about legends and songs, secret balls hidden in underground hideaways where Zu can spread their wings. The importance of the stars, how they read them, what they mean to him. How they don’t understand human royalty, how Prompto was one of the only ones to be raised by humans. Ignis listens to the legends of how they learned to transform and change, and the way he stares and listens makes Prompto so happy.

Ignis gives Prompto a bigger serving of food than the others, the next time he cooks for them all, and he seems to be closer to him now. Prompto realises it was just awkwardness separating the two of them, and he’s reminded Ignis is as young as him, that they are four barely-adults stuck in an impossible situation. It’s a little easier when Ignis brushes his wings, the soothing motion reminding him of a home buried under rubble and the family the four of them made.

_ I  _ _ feel like I'm about to fall, the room begins to sway, and I can hear the sirens but I cannot w _ _ alk away _

Prompto is most scared for Gladios reaction to everything. He doesn’t know why, but he guesses that its because his relationship with him is the most tentative. Prompto knows Gladio likes him, that they’re friends, but he holds his opinion in high regard, and Prompto thinks that worse case scenario, Gladios priority lays with Noctis. 

What surprises Prompto the most is that Gladio doesn't change at all. He still calls him a twerp, messes up his hair and congratulates him on a battle well fought. They go for jogs in the morning and argue about the superior cup noodle flavour at night. Even if Ignis doesn't let them  _ eat  _ them, they always manage to sneak a serving or two in Lestallum. 

Prompto wonders what it was that made him so calm about it, how he just wouldn’t react at all. It isn’t until they visit Iris that Prompto suddenly remembers that  _ she  _ knew well before the rest of them did, all the way back in Insomnia, and Prompto doesn't know why he didn't put it together sooner. Of  _ course  _ Iris told Gladio, and maybe it explains that one really awkward week they had two years ago, and suddenly everything makes sense again. Gladio is pretty great at keeping secrets, by the looks of it.

The only real difference now is sparring with Gladio. Before, Prompto had to hold back his strength, had to play into the idea that he was just scraping by, but his eyesight was perfect for shooting. But now he could use his full strength, and he wants to always remember the look on Gladios face when he was swept up by his tail. Gladio tried to argue that it was unfair to have an extra limb, but Prompto just laughed. He hasn’t been beaten since, and Gladio keeps trying to dethrone him, but Prompto won’t give him a chance. He’s got a reputation to uphold now. 

_ I thought I was flying but maybe I'm dying tonight. _

Years later, Prompto will yearn for sunrises where he would wake with Ignis, starting breakfast and flying off to stretch his wings. Of arm wrestles lit by campfires and the blue glow of a haven, as Ignis cheers and Noctis  _ still  _ tries to catch his tail, as if he wouldn’t notice. He promised Noctis he’d let him fly with him, after this was all over, but Prompto stares up at a dark sky with no stars, an impossible omen to someone like him, and thinks he may never get the chance. 

Prompto doesn’t fly much these days anyway, too many daemons. Ignis isn't around enough to brush his wings, or Gladio to even run with him, and he wishes that Noctis were around to scratch his ears. He misses Noctis as much as he misses the sun, the stars, and everything else they’d lost. Prompto waits for the day Noct returns, and swears to never let him go again. 

**Author's Note:**

> anyway checkout dovefanworks my friend is rad as hell
> 
> also shout at me on twitter and tumblr i guess
> 
> twitter: pitiossruins  
> tumblr: transignisscientia


End file.
